The Uprising
by Arnee Wenn
Summary: When the Dark Forest summons several talented cats to form a clan like no other to rise above the rest, it's up to a deranged playboy, a sadistic information broker, a young courier, and a certain angsty borderline emo individual known as the Heir of the Ivy to make it happen. Will be EPIC in length.
1. 第一話

The legend of the lost pride, Ivy. Thrice they were killed. Thrice their pride was damaged. Thrice they were reformed to be killed again.

Our legend began in the first moonrise.

It ended twelve moons past. Tonight changes nothing of our status. The Ivy no longer exist.

Here comes Olliver, the surviving one of that pride. The Ivy ancestors in the Dark Forest watch over him every night, but, why he doesn't even known they exist! But when he does think of his ancestors, he thinks of them as old farts who are butt ugly.

All he care about… is avenging his family. He must avenge the death of his five littermates and mother and father! But alas, he doesn't remember who was the killer.

Olliver is a rather usual looking young cat, with his black and white. On top of that, his eyes were black. He walks aimlessly around the streets. A normal, everyday cat. With an attitude.

Now, leaping from tree to tree is another kit with red eyes. She leaps with reason, carefully placing her paws on the branches. Her name is Karma. Now, Karma was not very skilled at this, for she fell off at one point, but easily broke her fall with a well-placed fence.

Skipping along the road was a happy BIG kit. He has wonderful grey fur that blended well with the sidewalk's asphalt. "My oh my what a wonderful day!" laughed Smoke as he skipped about all over the sidewalk.

Karma stopped to watch as Smoke happily slammed into Olliver. "...what?" she asked to no one in particular in her discombobulated state.

"Huh?" asked Olliver to no one in particular in his discombobulated state.

"Wha….?" asked Smoke happily to no one in particular in his discombobulated state.

Karma facepalmed. Facepalm? Facepaw!

"Who in the name of Cra-Cra Land?" demanded Olliver angrily. He was a very dignified little kitten, as he had just recently left the comfort of his master's home.

"Why, my name is Smoke," greeted the happy grey kitten. "Who are you, may I ask, good sir?"

"Olliver." Olliver answered haughtily. Smoke looked genuinely happy about his willingness to share his name. After a few second of noticing the female kit watching over them.

"And who might you be?" Smoke called out happily to her, startling Karma quite a bit. In fact, she stumbled over her footing in process in being startled and fell to the ground as graceful as one can make it.

Shaking the dirt off, Karma quick did her part of introduction. "I'm Karma, the information broker. Are you new around here, Smoke, Olliver?"

"HOW DO YOU KNOW OUR NAMES?!" yelled Smoke in a shocked voice, looking horrified and throwing his head back dramatically and taking a step back in an exaggerated fashion.

_Is it perhaps because, _thought Olliver, _she overheard us while we were introducing ourselves?_

"I am here on a short errand. A customer of mine has payed me a moon's worth of prey to take you on an offer and oversee it. This is not an option, of course. If you do not cooperate, I will be forced incapacitate you." Suddenly, the two kits felt slightly threatened.

"What might this offer be?" asked Olliver in a low voice, narrowing his eyes. On his part, he was quite defiant.

"It is my job to inform you… the client has asked you restore your clan to its former glory." Karma smiled. "My job is to kill… a certain cat."

Now, Smoke was feeling extremely out of place. "What's my job?"

"Oh, I would very much appreciate if you join Olliver's clan, Smoke," Karma bowed her head. Despite them all being kits and no maturity whatsoever, Karma held the highest overlooking status possibly.

Though the trio had just met, they were beginning to hate each other quite deeply. Of course, with the exception of Smoke, who loved every cat, every species, every carbon being he can or cannot communicate with, and the entire ever-lovin' world.

* * *

><p>Karma is evil.<p>

No cats of the stars, no great ancestors of Ivy can explain why Karma is so evil.

One day, Karma and her friend, the courtier friend Rin were rather bored in their underground lair. Rin, who was a very pretty, red-furred cat, was locked in a rather intense stare-off with the leafy wall, the former looking quite bored and annoyed. Suddenly Karma let out a long, distressed sigh.

"What's wrong, Karma?" Rin asked, knowing Karma only did this for attention.

"I am very bored," answered Karma.

"Do you want to have a staring contest?"

Karma shook her head. Of course she didn't, she was above such things.

"Do you want to beat me up?"

"No."

"How about inducing thirty minutes of pain on your prey before ending its misery and eating its mangled corpse?" asked Rin, running out of ideas.

"Nah… I don't feel like entertaining myself by watching other creature suffer today."

"Then what?" asked Rin, turning her head from the wall. She looked down at her younger partner in crime. "You've already killed many a cat from the Twoleg place during a certain time period, and I have already done some evil deed in my life that I dare not even speak of."

Just then, another cat stepped through the small entrance of their Tiny Home They Had Evilly Stolen From A Poor Rabbit And Her Seven Children, But Not After They Have Induced Thirty Minutes Of Pain Upon Them And Ending Their Misery In A Slow Fashion, Then Eating Their Mangled Corpses, Right Then And There.

"Hello, good regular customer! Welcome back to our Tiny Home We Had Evilly Stolen From A Poor Rabbit And Her Seven Children, But Not After We Have Induced Thirty Minutes Of Pain Upon Them And Ending Their Misery In A Slow Fashion, Then Eating Their Mangled Corpses, Right Then And There! Please state your business here, Tigerclaw!" Rin welcomed excitedly.

"Well, what do you want?" Karma said in somewhat hostile voice after a few moments of silence.

"The Dark Forest has told me of an old clan… that went by the name of Ivy. It's a bit like the situation in that SkyClan rumor that went around a few years back. I had to pay quite a lot of prey for that bit of information," the last part was more directed at Karma, the self-proclaimed information broker.

"Enough foreshadowing and get to the point, you piece of dung." Karma said, ignoring the comment at the end.

"Stop being rude to the customer!" scolded Rin.

"Sorry." Karma said quickly.

"It's okay, I forgive you, Karma," replied Rin, for she basically worshipped Karma.

"Anyway, this is a long-term courtier job, so I highly doubt Rin could make it. Anyways, Karma… please aid me in the revival of the IvyClan. Another thing… please assassinate a cat in my clan. His name is Fireheart." Tigerstar requested.

"Oh, an assassination? Sure, how long is this?"

"This is a one man job. Find the heir, Olliver, and gather the clan. Ready them for a battle. The clans may have quantity, but the Ivy must have quality. Also, the recruits for the clan will shortly arrive in two days at the sacred Camphor Tree."

"Sure, payment."

Tigerclaw sighed in a depressing way before dragging in a pile of kill. He dropped it in That Pile Where We Put Our Food and sighed. "There, happy?"

"Woah, you really must DO worship the Dark Forest. Deal." Karma said.

Tigerclaw threw a dead mouse at her, which she dodged. "Ta-ta, darling!" she called after him.

When Tigerclaw strutted out of the room, Karma looked down upon That Pile Where We Put Our Food depressingly. "Man, we gotta eat all this before it goes rotten," said Karma wistfully. "Good luck, Rin. I gotta get this guy named Olliver."

"Karma, you know what you must do…"

"Yes," said Karma as she began walking out of the Tiny Home We Had Evilly Stolen From A Poor Rabbit And Her Seven Children, But Not After We Have Induced Thirty Minutes Of Pain Upon Them And Ending Their Misery In A Slow Fashion, Then Eating Their Mangled Corpses, Right Then And There. "I am off to do some evil bidding."

And with that, she went to find Olliver and that cat named Fireheart Tigerstar wanted to smite ever so pointlessly.

* * *

><p>Olliver looked up at the huge camphor tree. "It's… it's a tree."<p>

"Why, yes it is!" Smoke replied joyfully, bouncing all over it. "A tree! A treeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!"

"And? So?"

"How… do you NOT like trees?!" cried Smoke, bawling his eyes out. "Wah!"

Karma sighed and face pawed. "So, THIS is the camp you have selected, Olliver?"

"No…"

Smoke tackled him to the ground.

"I mean, yes…"

Karma sighed once again. "Now, all we need to do is to appoint a few people. Tig- I MEAN, my client has not told me to name you clan head or deputy or whatever, so I have to decided on a few roles. First will be that the leader, or That Guy Who Makes All The Rules, will do as the name dictates, the second in command, That Guy Who Enforces All The Rules, and there will be a healing guy, That Guy Who Heals All The People. Furthermore, there wilI be more than one guy who heals all the people, and the will be the soldiers, warriors, whatever, and trainees. Also, those who are too old will be called Old Furball Ticked-up Cats. Kits equals kits. We will split the job of hunting. Also, do NOT wander into the Clan territories. Now go get some cats for your clan. If you do not do as so, I will get Tiger- I MEAN, our client and he and I will mindlessly kill you."

"GASP!" gasped Smoke as he tackled Olliver.

"Now, I want to make this as short as possible, so go get your friends and family and make them join."

"Oh, you mean Frost? Frost!" Smoke yelled.

Frost, a pretty blue eyed kit with snowy white fur, jumped out of a bush. After all, she had been stalking on her crush, Smoke. "Yes?" Frost asked sweetly.

"I dislike how she was so readily available so I will kill her if you do not summon your friends at once."

"What?" asked Frost and Smoke obliviously. Olliver sighed.

"CALL THEM OR I SHALL KILL YOU!" yelled Karma, getting impatient.

"Weren't you going to kill us anyway?" asked Olliver.

"THAT'S BESIDE THE POINT!"

After five minutes, another cat passed by the camphor tree. "Why, good morning! Would you like to join our group of awesome tree-loving cats?"

Olliver glanced at him momentarily. Frost, of course, was too busy staring at Smoke obsessively. Karma studied him carefully.

"Oh… I'm a loner anyway, so why not?" said the new cat. This particular cat was a dull brown cat, with red eyes. "My name is Pocky."

He said no more. No one said anything. Even the birds didn't say anything.

"Welcome to the Camphor Tree," welcomed all of the cats, including Frost, who was just copying Smoke.

Within the limit of five minutes, two other cats showed up. "I heard from a courtier to come this direction. This is IvyClan, correct?" the friendly looking cat with amber eyes and grey fur asked. "My name's Rowan, and that's Leopard!"

Leopard dipped his head politely. "Nice to meet you."

"Sure it is!" said Karma in a fake happy tone.

Soon, another cat came and went, so it was a bit sad for them. Then again, this cat was a bit obese, so it was a good thing.

"Good," said the heavily scarred one with bright red eyes, Pocky, in a deep voice. "So… this is what the Dark Forest has to offer…"

Everyone felt the intensity. Except for Karma, who simply flipped him the bird. Rowan and Pocky went to stand in a line. They stood there for a few more second, before feeling very stupid and getting out of that line.

"So, I trust that most of you had had SOMEONE tell you of IvyClan's existence?" asked Karma. All six young cats nodded. Frost had been listening in, after all, when she was spying on Smoke, her love interest.

"Then I should be assured that all of you know WHAT to do. RIGHT?!"

All six of them shuffled their feet nervously.

"So… you're the heir…" Leopard glanced at Olliver, who slightly shifted his paws and bared his teeth. Olliver…

"What's it to you?!" Oliver spat. After Leopard backed off, he gave smug smile of victory.

Leopard couldn't help but say irritatedly "You know what's it to me? You being a piece of snobnoxious, stuck up, self absorbed little fox dung!"

"Hey! Red-eyed maniac! Is this who we're supposed to protect?" Leopard asked angrily.

Of course, Pocky had looked up, for he had red eyes, but decided that he wasn't a maniac, then returned his gaze to studying the camphor tree and what room he would be staying in. "This _is _the famous 'Olliver, heir of the Ivy', right?"

"Sure. That's what Tiger- I MEAN, our client, told us." Karma stated quite calmly, eyes glinting with an amused shine. "I know, this is a disappointment. I mean, this guy is an anti-social, spitting, condescending bastard."

"HEY!" Olliver turned to Karma, both shocked and angry at her blunt statement. "WHOSE SIDE ARE YOU ON, ANYWAYS?!"

"I wasn't aware there were sides."

"Why you…!" Olliver seethed angrily.

"Wow," Leopard muttered sarcastically to Rowan. Though he had appeared to be friendly at first glance, Leopard proved to be quite angsty. "I'd rather protect an obese, stinky, stick in the mud mouse than that condescending bastard-"

"Hey! That's not polite!" scolded Frost, tearing her attention from Smoke, who was staring at the tree with a loving expression next to Pocky.

"Come on, let's not fight! It's not good." Rowan said with a pleading tone.

"Fine." Leopard said, dipping his head. "But the next time… it won't be so pleasant, Olliver," The two decided on which room they were going to room in the tree, nodded, and jumped.

The pair of cats, who looked amazingly similar from this angle, hopped up the camphor tree and into a hole. disappeared into a hole near the top a tree.

Pocky followed, and took a hole a few feet below Rowan and Leopard's.

"Yay! Tree holes!" Smoke bounced up and down enthusiastically. Smoke giggled giddily before pouncing on it, he slowing and carelessly climbed up the tree, with help from Frost, of course. A lot of help. And unnecessary help.

He eventually got into a loophole and settled down with Frost. Olliver didn't even bother to choose a hole; he just took the one below Pocky.

"Whatever," Olliver said to himself in an angsty voice. It had been a long day for him.

"…now, to find this Fireheart…" Karma smiled, killing intent spiking up.

END OF CHAPTER ONE

* * *

><p>Nice to meet you. This is Arnee Wenn and Ian Swift, both junior high students, we are writing a collab fic, The Uprising, brought to you people STRAIGHT FROM THE TAIWAN ISLANDS!<p>

Anyways, this time it is Arnee speaking. I would like you to think of my voice as feminine, I'm a girl.

Some of you may have read my One Piece and Naruto crossover. Personally, I believe that I've done a good job on that one.

Right about now, I've starting to feel incredibly embarrassed about referring to myself with a penname.

To people who have done things online: it's a bit like revealing your handle to the world for the first time.

Come to think of it, this book got its start online.

When I read the Warriors series, I got interested when I realized that the workings of the Warrior clans seemed an awful lot like the human world.

…Really, this is a work that was more about my personal interest rather than an idea marketed to a certain type of reader (that is, I didn't try to come up with some catchy topic). I am truly thankful to you readers who picked this story up, I am very grateful that you stuck with my (Arnee's) long, drawn-out writing style, though Ian was a bit annoyed with mine and just did it quite quickly. I appologize for the short character introductions, and the Allegiances don't matter to me. Figure that out yourself.

I hope that IvyClan will live just a little longer in your hearts.

And we pray that we will make this story epic in length.

For today, I lay down my pen.

…It's actually still September 6, 2014, so some ideas here might be controversial.

- Arnee Wenn


	2. 第二話

Dawn came, just like any other day. Rowan woke up, the sun wasn't the least out.

He'd sort of expect that, since he is a generally early cat that always woke up at 5 am.

His hole was very up high, something he wasn't used to, but Leopard excelled at climbing, so he went along with it. It was an excercise to them, unlike the others.

Leopard was still sleeping, which wasn't a surprise. Waking up was a achievement for him.

He slowly climbed onto the long, thick, twisty branch of the long, thick, twisty tree, beside a long, think, twisty river. No one was awake, or at least he thought so.

Off he went to wash his face.

* * *

><p>At the nearby camp of Thunder, Karma observed the situation and analysed the assassination plan quietly through the branches. Though she seemed impatient, analyzing and making observations for an assassination.<p>

Even Tigerclaw didn't know she was there ten minutes ago talking to his workmate, Mapleshade. Karma had everything planned out- even her death.

After all, Mapleshade was in line for leader of the Dark Forest. If that happens, her plan would be ruined. And Rin would never have the chance of falling in love with Tigerclaw. And her link with him would eventually disappear.

And if Mapleshade becomes the leader, Karma would die. She didn't mind, though.

She overheard it when Tigerclaw and Mapleshade had their little chat. A rustle in the bushes.

_Someone is coming._ Karma sped back to the camphor tree, and threw herself into the hole.

* * *

><p>To her surprise, it was Smoke who had woke up first.<p>

And was now hugging the tree.

She should've guessed. Though she knew of a few cats who were tree-huggers, none of them actually really hugged trees.

She has cooperated with many cats before, but none this idiotic, stupid, and random.

If Tigerclaw was trying to make her mission almost impossible, he just unlocked the achievement. (Back in the ThunderClan territory, Tigerclaw felt the feeling of victory, as if he had just brought down a fox by himself.)

Karma drifted off into sleep for a while, before her ears felt an uncomfortable tingling feeling in it.

Smoke suddenly gave a surprisingly high screech of pain, that past the scale of sound frequency a cat can hear.

Pocky jumped quite high at this noise, with his fur standing on its end and fell down disgracefully. "What was that all about?!"

"You bumped into me!" Smoke cried. He looked genuinely upset about the entire incident.

Pocky threw back a bunch of profanities in response, cussing like a human sailor. Unlike his usual dark and angsty demeanor, he seemed to hate Smoke to the point he went through a personality change.

Due to all this noise (and possibly also due to the incomprehensible high scream of terror from Smoke), the cat woke up simultaneously.

Cats started coming out of their holes and down the trees.

* * *

><p>Leopard gasped. Though he hadn't recognized her right away, he knew the unique description anywhere. Dark red eyes, thin black coat.<p>

She was the cat who publicly tortured a whole family of foxes that were disturbing the neighborhood for thirty minutes then ended their lives, children and female first! Of course, this was done when she was about six moons old.

He knew that she probably saved every cat that was left, but he still didn't trust her. She seemed like a very sinister cat that loved to kill.

"Um.. Leopard?" Rowan slightly nudged the male cat, sincerely concerned.

"Oh, yeah?" Leopard replied quietly.

"Karma's hosting a 'welcome ceremony' or something of that sort. We're supposed to be there…"

"Seriously…?"

This was the reason Karma wasn't the first cat to arrive at the Top Branch That Looked Really Sturdy.

Smoke was bouncing around like a kitty, while Frost was gazing at him with her dark blue eyes.

Karma rolled her eyes. She couldn't believe the complete obliviousness on Smoke's part, not to mention Frost's inability to speak to him without a stutter.

Not long after, cats started pouring in. Pocky was the last cat to arrive. Not wanting to waste a precious second she started.

"As you probably all know, IvyClan is organized just as any other clan in history. Roles will be distributed today. Olliver, for your protection, you will just be a normal warrior. Rowan, you're the leader… of course, this is no big deal, unless you count the nine lives, because, you know, nine lives; and you're the most cooperative one so far. Leopard, you're the deputy, no comment. Frost, the medicine cat. Why? Seriously, don't even ask. Smoke, Olliver, and I will be the warriors. Comprende?"

No one dared to challenge her. She gave that look once again, the look that was calm and collected, though one can see a ghost of a demon behind that calm face. Olliver looked pissed, but he couldn't help but feel a bit terrified.

If Olliver was made the leader, the clan would fall apart before anyone could say a word. Rowan was a good choice, since he had good leadership skills. Cooperation was also something that that proved to be one of those aforementioned leadership skills.

The others, well, were obvious. Even though she'd admit that Frost wasn't the BEST medicine cat, she would rather work with her than Smoke.

_Who knows what Smoke would do to the patient_, thought Karma, getting the image of Smoke tackling them to the ground.

Of course, it was also because she was a girl, and they were kinda sexist over that.

Leopard… was the most logical choice. He was the most normal one in the group, except he's a bit possessive. And… he's sort of like Karma… in a way.

But he wasn't macabre, evil, or a sneaky bastard who killed for a living.

"Um… hello?" Leopard shook her out of her thoughts with that phrase. "Are you done?"

No one replied. Karma looked around at her cats.

Rowan was stunned head to toe. Though he seemed honored, he was a bit shocked about her decision. The rest weren't, however.

Frost looked like she was hit by a volcano. Then she didn't, for she figured out she can play nurse and help Smoke it he was ever hurt. Smoke smiled peacefully; unaffected by it all.

Leopard looked as if he had been presented a large juicy mouse. Pocky just simply stared at her.

This was very unusual for Pocky. If there was one person in the group who Karma could count on to shout out first, it would be Pocky. But not today.

Olliver just simply glared at her irritatedly. Karma couldn't blame him, since her reaction would be worse than that.

Karma cleared her throat. "This is what I think is best for every cat, Olliver. You know our mission- to revive IvyClan and restore its former glory. The decision is made, and we will proceed immediately, Leopard. From now on, Rowan will be the first leader. I'll be able to overspeak him in the name of Tig- I MEAN, our client and the Dark Forest. The only thing I can do, really, is to veto his decisions. The two of us, along with Leopard, will vote on the decisions if any cat rejects the veto. Leopard will be in charge of patrols. We must find other cats to join us. They will be put through a test. If they score 8 or more of the 10 events, they will be considered. Rowan?"

After the night's dream, with all the IvyClan ancestors pestering him about trees (surprisingly) and the territory marking, the hunt. Of course, he put up with it.

"My first decision as leader is to renovate the tree into a fort, with small storage houses. There are many squirrel holes that we can use. We will furthermore need a lookout post. Our hunting pile will be in the largest hole of the trunk, to prevent other cats or dogs from stealing them.

"Leopard, please assemble patrols for that. Frost will gather herbs around the area. Frost, I trust you have a certain amount of knowledge during your time in the Dark Forest?" Rowan said this swiftly, placing careful thought in his words.

"We need fresh-kill now. Karma and Olliver will go hunt. Smoke, help Frost gather herbs around our territory. Rowan and Pocky start renovating our tree. We must move quickly. I want all cats to meet here by the afternoon. Then, Rowan, Karma, and Olliver will lead a border patrol and set out borders. Pocky and I will finish the tree. Frost and Smoke will help organize the interior, and go hunt more if needed." Leopard quickly sorted everyone into groups. Of course, he had to be skilled in this area if Karma chose him.

END OF CHAPTER TWO-

Ah, and that concludes today's episode of Uprising Shippuden! Just kidding. Sorry for the short chapter, but we realized this fic hasn't gotten a lot of review. In fact there are not many.

Yeah, so please do.

Thank you.

Ian Swift and Arnee Wenn.


	3. 第三話

Leopard accompanied Karma as she inspected the newly renovated tree. It was late evening, and everyone was pretty much finishing their fresh-kill. Smoke and Frost were still sorting everything out.

"It's pretty much fine," Karma said bluntly. The tree was pretty good, but she didn't want to make it seem like she was losing control. "But I think the medicine den is a little to the bottom. And Smoke isn't necessarily the best fighter."

"That's the only den that would fit the description of a good medical storage. Anyways, we mark our territory everyday, so it should be fine." Leopard retorted.

"Hey guys!" Rowan cheerfully joined the conversation, erasing all intensity, as Leopard and Karma had some incomprehensible rivalry. "I saw some new cats during patrol. I think some of them are recruitable, though I don't think the older ones were too eager to join a new group of cats that apparently 'settled on the sacred tree' or something. But I did see promising youngsters."

"Great! We can have their first on land trials tomorrow! Running, climbing, and hunting will be first!" Leopard added.

"Fine with me." Karma said bluntly. "Not that I actually care."

The two other cats simply stared at her. "What's your deal?" Leopard asked.

"Look, your client hired us to execute a cat. Not 'Make new members join'. But whatevs, of thats what you want."

Leopard silently glared at her. Karma had to admit, his stare is pretty intimidating. Rowan broke the silence and signaled Leopard to leave.

* * *

><p>Rowan is a natural-born leader.<p>

No cats of the stars, no great ancestors of Ivy can explain why Rowan was such a great leader.

First-rate and popular, he is, indeed, the Ivy's reliable leader.

Although everyone had their good points, if you ask who was the most likeable of all the cats, they would answer 'Rowan' without skipping a beat.

If you ask anyone in the Dark Forest about the most likeable cat they have ever summoned from the living world, they would answer 'Rowan' without skipping a beat.

More than anything, it was his personality. Unlike Karma or Olliver, there was no macabre side to him, or a dark, angsty past.

He's polite and generous to anyone, mind his manners with the ancestors, and even during his time for his trial with the Ivy ancestors to see if there was anyone useful for the rebirth of their clan, he was top-of the class. No matter what they threw at him, he handled the situation carefully and flawlessly.

Allow us to go into the minds and memory of every single cat to find their opinion of him.

Here we approach Olliver. His mind is so full of angst that it's hard to sort it through.

Olliver was going on a territory marking trip with his new leader, Rowan… star, he guessed. He was still holding a grudge for to leader thing.

Rowan, on the other hand, disliked the name and refused to have that kind of thing as 'star'. So he disregarded that kind of thing as a nuisance.

This _was _what he had said, but this was in order to stop Olliver from hating him and to not hurt his feelings.

Though this was stupid, Olliver thought:

_B, but still… he, he's pretty cool!_

* * *

><p>We now enter Smoke's mind. He's a very eccentric person, so we'll have to flip through it slowly.<p>

… there it is!

"I have cleaned out the termites in the tree to keep it from rotting," was Rowan's response to Smoke's tearful complaint.

_He… he… so cool!_

"Oh, if it's about the termites, I ate them." Pocky said in a low voice.

_Disgusting!_

* * *

><p>Now Frost has no interest in anyone BUT Smoke, so she has no opinion. Pocky had no interest in anyone BUT himself, and Karma didn't have any interest in people who she could kill or put in various amounts of pain for a particular time setting. So we move on to Leopard, for he has been good friends with him for a long time.<p>

"Eh, Rowan? You got in here for trials, too?" Leopard was treating the entire thing like a ballet tryout, though Rowan felt their ancestor's compassion.

"Ah, yes! Wow, Leopard, you got in too!" Rowan said happily. The only reason he got in here was probably because of his ability to sense things more than two meters away. "Good luck!"

The only fault would seem that he used to be kittypet, and even that kind of experience proved to be resourceful.

"Ah, are you hurt?" Rowan said to the female cat who was sparring with another, before getting hurt.

_Even now, he still gets love declarations from various cats around the Twoleg block!_

In the end, everyone in the forest was thinking the same thing:

_C, cool! So cool!_

- END OF CHAPTER THREE

Ah, this is Arnee Wenn.

To begin with, I am kind of upset that there has ONLY been sixteen views and 0 reviews, so to get my point across, I made another chapter. Actually, it's mostly written by Ian, but the trollish part at the end was MINE.

REVIEW, DAMMIT!


	4. 第四話

Morning came again. It was ridiculous.

The next morning, everyone was up bright and early, eager to see the tryouts.

Frost and Smoke were bringing the new cats in. Karma eyed Rowan and Leopard slightly. Leopard noticed her immediately and nodded. He signaled Rowan so he could begin.

"You're all here because our ancestors believe you are eligible for our newly reformed clan. Well, WE DON'T! You have chosen to participate in the 10 events of the trials- Running, hunting, climbing, intelligence, attack, defense, swimming, deception, leadership, and teamwork. Most of all, your natural talent. I am here to inform you that our theme is 'the survival of the fittest'; meaning being that we must excel at everything, better than the other clans.

"Furthermore, I KNOW I am monologuing, Pocky, so stop muttering. And, though the medicine cat cannot fight in the front lines, it is important for them to know how to fight." Karma turned to Pocky, muttering profanities at Karma.

"Today, you will be tested on running, climbing, and hunting. I know that some of you have done this already in the Dark Forest, but I want to see beforehand your skills compared with other cats we have recruited."

"Running will take place alongside the river. Cats will go two by two. Eliminations will proceed with 10 cats, 5, 3, and 1. All other competitions will go down this way. Running will be in the morning. We will share fresh-kill when we finish the race, about at noon."

"In the afternoon, the preliminaries will take place in the territory. The activity is hunting. Karms will oversee this one-on-one. The tree and the river is off limits. We will meet back here at dusk. After an hour, the climbing event will take place here at the tree."

"Killing is allowed, of course. I will try to stop the fight before anything mortally endangering happens. To you, not the prey. If you want to bring down a fox, I'm not going to stop you." Karma emphasized.

"Killing PREY is allowed, Karma." Leopard corrected politely, ever the pacifist. "At least for this competition."

_Didn't she JUST say that?_

"Sure, sure. Racing competition will start in a few moments. We want everyone to stand next to a partner with the appropriate speed. The fastest will start first. After the pair of cats crosses the finish line, the will double back. The loser will go back to the tree and rest. The winner will wait until the pair race is over." Rowan instructed. "I will supervise this event."

_That brat's starting feel kind of suspicious_. Leopard thought.

* * *

><p>As the cats gathered beside the river, Leopard climbed up the branch closest to the river. The plan was that the new cats wouldn't know he was there, so if any of them cheated, he would see and report to Karma. Olliver would be at mid-point, and Pocky will be at the end. Rowan would stay at the starting line, to give orders to the racers.<p>

Grey and Firo would be the first to race. Grey was a charming blue-grey female cat with large blue eyes and small white paws.

Firo was the most shiny, golden, and sparkly cat anyone has ever seen. He sort of looked like Leopard, but just more shiny. Pink sparkles emitted everytime he moved, I swear.

Rowan was preparing for the race to start. Pocky and Olliver are going to their stations. As soon as they get there, the race will start.

Karma didn't seem tense, but she seriously was. Though she went with the flow and was careful not to make mistakes.

She was afraid that the process was going too slow. Rowan and Leopard are turning all their attention to the clan, not their mission- to kill Fireheart. She needed to hurry with their plan, or Tigerclaw would back out of their deal.

"Three, two, one, go!" Rowan shouted, signaling the race to start. The two racers sprinted across the thin strip of grass. Neither seemed to be in front of the other, and before long, they got to the half point.

At that split second when they both stopped at the half line to get a drink, the next pair, Lily, a pale, small, female, and Chester, a mustard-colored tom, started their race. From the top branch, Leopard could see Chester stumble a bit every half mile or so.

* * *

><p>Back at the tree, all their guest cats swarmed over their food like a pack of wolves. No one could really blame them, everyone was starving from the first three events of the trails.<p>

Rowan and Smoke went over to the new cats and shared kill with them, while Leopard and Pocky hung back.

Frost had no choice but to follow Smoke, but despite her total addiction for Smoke, she also socialized with other toms, as if Smoke would care.

Olliver was nowhere to be seen. Karma knew he probably was up in his lonely hole, picking at his fresh kill, saying that it wasn't tasty enough without ketchup.

WHAT THE BLOODY HELL IS KETCHUP!?

Karma was slightly impressed with the results of today's competition. Grey, Firo, Willow, Chester and Dust get to move onto tomorrow's competition- intelligence, analyzing, interrogation, attack, and defense.

She was pretty desperate to have other females to join, so they could have kits. Rin would make a good mother, but Karma needed her to stay a secret. That way, if anything happened to Karma, Rin could cover for her. And the original cats are all way too young to have mates.

Sure, Frost loves Smoke, but they were too young to have kits. Right? And Frost was a medicine cat… but Karma didn't care much.

"Hey. The recruits are leaving," Rowan hinted to Karma. Rowan was still in his love-me-I'm-innocent mode, so it was a bit annoying.

"I'm coming." Karma impatiently said.

* * *

><p>After the recruits left, Karma gathered Leopard and Rowan for a quick discussion.<p>

"I really need leave and analyze the situation to speed up our mission to kill Fireheart." Karma confessed.

"What?" Rowan was startled. "I thought by now, you'd care more about our clan than our client!"

"Why are you so interested in killing that Fireheart?" Leopard took Rowan's side.

"Why?" Karma smiled. Amateurs. "My business is with the client. I have no contact with the Dark Forest. Now… allow me to restate my mission. I must find the heir of the Ivy. If he does not agree, I will kill him. He will start a clan, or I will start it for him. And… I must… kill a certain cat named Fireheart."

"What does this have to killing? This has nothing to do with our ultimate goal, right?" Leopard spat. "That's not why we came here!"

"Of course! But, I have nothing to do with the clan. I am only here to observe its foundation and help you in times of need. MY goal is to kill this cat no matter what technique I use."

"Why.. you!" Rowan held Leopard back. Leopard then remembered the fact that the younger queen before him was the one who brought down the family of foxes on her own.

"Kuh!"

"Haha, not so arrogant now, huh?" Karma smiled peacefully.

Cats started peering out of their respective holes.

"…" Karma closed her eyes. "We'll talk tomorrow."

- END OF CHAPTER FOUR

- Authors Note:

Hello! We are releasing a few more chapters to satisfy the wishes of our readers and reviewers. We actually have more chapters ready, but aren't ready to publish it. Arnee tends to change the wordings and everything, so its best not to release it until she's completely done with it. (Yup, yup. Even this author's note will be changed.)

My name is a penname too, like Arnee.

I started liking warriors at about 4th grade, and I convinced that warriors was awesome in 5th grade. (Arnee knew Warriors from me… hehe.)

Anyways, Arnee got inspired to write a fanfiction- well, we got inspired by the idea of manipulating our own clan, so we created an IvyClan fanfiction.

We both really like writing this story and publishing it, not for our school, but for our pleasure.

I thank all our readers and **reviewer**- I hope there are more to come- for encouraging us to publish more chapters, and feel free to email or contact us.

Hope you enjoy the story! Thanks! Ian Swift

(Ian, upon finishing the author's note: GOSH IS THAT OK ARNEE?

Arnee: WHY YES IT IS!)


	5. 第五話

What is reality? Are the things around us really what we perceive?

"Sure. I guess?" Rin said, not getting the entire picture. "Huh, lessee… Karma would probably something like hell. Probably not, 'cause that would probably be a whole lot more awesome. But whatever you do, DO NOT ASK THAT RECRUIT NAMED SMOKE, he'll just say trees."

Tigerclaw looked at Rin weirdly for a second, then turned to face the recruits. "Let's just say, they're thinking: today is just like any other… and reality comes and reality kicks you right in the balls."

As if it were rehearsed, the blue-grey one that highly resembled Bluestar immediately spoke up. "My name is Grey. Nice to meet you."

"Take this one for example. Reality already did a number on her. Square in the balls." Tigerclaw began.

The sparkly one spoke up. "I'm Firo. And ladies… I'm single! Ahahahaha…. Just kidding, I'm with Dust. "

"... let's move on." Tigerclaw trailed off.

"My name's Willow…" this cat had dark green eyes and dark orange fur… kind of like a shier, more dark Firestar.

"Or this cat here. Reality's gonna knee him any day now." Tigerclaw narrated.

"Dust. My most prized feature are my slender legs!" A yellow eyed, brown-furred cat.

"... oh god, woman, don't have children!" Rin face pawed. Tigerclaw sighed. They… were doomed.

In the sunset, the first twelve cats of the reborn IvyClan stood, waiting for Chester's introduction.

"Chester…? What are you waiting for?" Karma asked, getting impatient.

"I… am a man. A man… in love." The obese mustard cat said. Karma frowned. "My name is Chester. I'm just here to say… beware of the fire. Later."

Chester walked off in another direction. Everyone within the area that saw this thought:

_THEN WHY DID YOU PARTICIPATE IN THIS COMPETITION?!_

Remember that kick in the nuts Tigerclaw was talking about? It's about to happen.

Chester died.

Right then and right there, Chester's soul completely disintegrated. He fell to the ground.

Lily screamed. A scream that leads us to Lily's mind. She was kicked in the nuts once. Just two nights ago.

It happened one day, a dream that shook her world.

"So tell me, what was in the dream?" Chester, her brother, asked.

"I… was submitted into some kind of trial… I was hurt…" Lily said timidly. She had a dislocated paw when she woke up that day. "Another cat named Rowan saved me, but I… he got punished for it. Like, I think… I should kill myself!"

"So… let me get this straight. You got a stranger in trouble, and your first thought is to KILL YOURSELF?" Chester looked strangely at his younger sister.

"Yeah…"

* * *

><p>"Ch… Chester…" Lily looked… traumatized, fairly enough to faint.<p>

Karma slitted her eyes. "...Yeah… that's pretty vague, but I'm pretty sure he's talking about Fireheart."

Leopard's eyes grew wider than saucers. Rowan stepped back, upset.

Smoke barfed. He kind of barfed. Yeah. Olliver nearly did the same, but found the ground unworthy of touching his bile.

"Who… why…?" Frost's eyes watered. Though they hadn't known each other, it was hard for her to see someone die like this.

As for these cats, Leopard, Rowan, Smoke, Olliver, Frost, Pocky, Grey, Firo, Willow, Dust, and Lily, life can still go on.

So for these two, Rin and Karma… their lives are royally screwed.

* * *

><p>Of course, they intended to drag everyone down with them.<p>

After the three days of the trails were over, only five cats made it in- Grey, Firo, Willow, Dust, and Lily. Lily was in comatose due to her brother's sudden death, but her first performance proved to be acceptable.

Frost was taking care of her, and Leopard has been glaring at Karma ever since the incident. As if it were her fault that Chester died.

Then again, maybe it was.

Rowan, on the other hand, blamed no one and simply mourned.

"Congrats! The five of you have made it into our clan, but all of you still need to prove yourselves worthy in our clan. Leopard, please check on the new members."

Though the atmosphere was gloomy, Rowan still kept that wide, kind smile of his.

Karma had planned disappeared a few days after Lily's comatose, and was off to smite someone mindlessly. Of course, she wanted to do it as soon as possible.

"Sure. The new recruits can find a hole, or share a hole with another cat. At noon, hunting patrols and border patrols will be assembled. Every cat will report here at noon." Leopard gave further instructions.

Rowan and Leopard settled down in the large den. "What's up with her? I thought she was dedicated!"

Rowan patiently consoled Leopard. "She… she has a different mind than us…"

"But, what's up with her aura? I feel like she could kill us without even trying!"

"..."

* * *

><p>When everyone went to bed, Pocky slipped out of his hole. For once, he thanked Olliver's constant complaints (about many things).<p>

Not because he liked them, as if they he would ever, but because they kept him awake so he could continue his mission. Leopard and Rowan were the first to arrive at High Branch. The new cats started pouring in, along with the originals.

"Where's Karma?" Smoke asked, finally realizing this.

"Um… Karma's… uh… checking out the area outside of our territory," Rowan lied. He couldn't very well say 'she's off to smite someone mindlessly, quote unquote'!

Leopard, of course, DIDN'T know about the smiting part either, so played along. Eventually, he got TIRED and decided to give out orders like he was supposed to.

"Rowan will lead a hunting patrol with Dust and Willow. Pocky will lead a border patrol with Grey and Firo. Olliver and Lily will make up the second hunting patrol in the afternoon." Leopard quickly ordered.

* * *

><p>"Are you serious?" Someone howled from inside the Camphor Tree.<p>

"What is the matter with you?" Pocky roared. "Some of us are trying to rest!"

"Arghhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" The cat screamed again.

"Would you please shut the hell up!" Pocky shrieked. He wasn't known for patience. "And who is it down there?"

Pocky had lead a border patrol today, and he was super exhausted. Even though he knew it wasn't even dinner time yet, how could everyone be so insensitive?

Anyways, he decided to get up. He jumped down his branch, and found himself facing the screaming cat- Olliver. Olliver seemed as mad as he was, so Pocky didn't want to provoke him.

Dark Forest chose him to be the avenger, after all. Karma, of course, helped.

He spotted Leopard and Rowan down at the gathering area. Karma was nowhere to be seen. He knew that she's on a trip, but he didn't think that Rowan told him the exact truth. And he will find out the truth.

That made him sound inexplicitly like a stalker.

Gosh, it DID make him sound like stalker.

* * *

><p>He slowly made his way down the big Camphor Tree. He went as slow as he could, but climbing wasn't his speciality. So he kind of sledded down.<p>

Firo was on guard tonight, so it was pretty easy to slip past him. He was the new medicine apprentice, but Leopard thought it was only fair if all the new cats were on guard at least once.

As deputy, it was basically law.

Once Pocky got to the river, he tried to smell out her scent. It was very stale, since she left two days ago, but he could still track her down. Apparently, she crossed the river.

Pocky was very nervous about going into the water, even though he did like to wet his paws on a hot summer day, the late-summer NIGHTS were a different story.

He eventually managed to cross the river, but he ended up getting soaked. Pocky knew this would happen, because it was mid leaf-fall, so the currents were getting high.

When Pocky was sure he was far from the Camphor tree, he caught himself a mouse or two and settled down for the night.

* * *

><p>"Hey!" Leopard greeted Rowan. Even though Leopard's not used to waking up early, it's his turn to lead the dawn patrol with Firo and Dust.<p>

As the trio left, Leopard couldn't help but wonder when Karma would return.

He knew that she had went to dispatch Fireheart, but she never said when she was coming back.

"Um.. Leopard?" Dust nudged his shoulder. "Suppose, where to hunt?"

"Uh… to that clearing surrounded by tall trees. We can catch some mice and possibly a squirrel," Leopard said, focusing on 'providing'.

…these people have somehow attached themselves deeply to Karma.

* * *

><p>"Pocky's missing!" Gray reported.<p>

"What?" Leopard was traumatized. "Everyone was on guard! Sparkly one, you said that no one left the Camphor!"

Seriously, you're realizing now? Tigerclaw, who had been perched on a tree, watching the clan, thought incredulously.

Firo stammered "I swear! I ain't see nobody in that dead middle of the night!"

Leopard growled and looked like he was about to pounce on Firo. Firo, somewhat the more girlish type, looked freaked out, then played possum.

Before Leopard to move a whisker, Rowan stepped between the two cats. "Hey! It's okay, maybe Pocky went an alternate route!"

"Rowan, we must find him, stat!" Leopard declared. "You know… because…"

Rowan stood straight, military-style, and saluted, nose high. "Right! Um… Leopard, would you assemble a patrol to search for Pocky?"

"I think I'll be fine on my own, Rowan," Leopard meowed.

"Y, yes!"

These two… I'm beginning to doubt who is the leader, thought the rest.

* * *

><p>Karma and Rin were dragging the Moonstone across the Thunderpath. Though it was stupid, it was ALL part of the mission to steal the source of information for the Clans.<p>

They weren't afraid, of course, because they had a ROCK blocking the way of the car, and no cars came through here during the construction ahead of the roads. All of this information was gained from all the other couriers, who were on other jobs.

"Hey, Karma?"

"What is it, Rin?"

"Why, this rock is quite heavy!"

"It sure is!"

Then, they went again. "Damn, isn't Tigerclaw supposed to do this job?"

"Yeah, but then, he got scared of the road!"

Both of them chuckled warmly. Then they stopped chuckling warmly and continued to pull the Moonstone across the road. "Ah, but I want to kill someone. Namely Fireheart. Man, I've got to get along with that job."

"You can go give a try when we get back, okay?" Rin said, grunting as she tripped over a rock. "Oh, why, we're in ThunderClan territory already! But we have to get the Moonstone back to camp!"

"Sure!" Then they both chuckled warmly and headed toward the camphor tree. Not knowing they had just past Pocky, who was under the impression Karma had gone to Thunderclan.

Meanwhile, Pocky who had just crossed the river and had just dried himself near the Sandy Hollow, was confronted with six different apprentices and an instructor. Why, it was Dustpelt and six apprentices who were unnamed because they are unimportant to the story!

"GASP! An intruder!" gasped the six apprentices.

"What do you want?! Which clan do you come from?! State your business here!" Dustpelt hurled these words at him.

"Fufu… I am simply finding my companion…"

"If you are here to pick a fight, then I shall accept…!"

Pocky simply blinked, figured that the cat before him was NOT Karma. But just then, Pocky caught smell of Karma's scent when the wind changed, then looked at Dustpelt.

Pocky sighed. "You are in no position to fight. Furthermore, these young ones will be the ones you are trying to protect, so it would be hard. I will take my leave." Then, he ran off in Karma's general direction.

- END OF CHAPTER FIVE

* * *

><p>... WHY ISN'T ANYONE REVIEWING?!<p> 


	6. 第六話

Karma and Rin walked tirelessly along the Thunder Clan and Twoleg Place border towards the Falls to find the camphor, while trying to find the camp.

Pocky, meanwhile, was slightly behind Karma and Rin, also had the same idea to walk along the border. No because he was following Karma, but because he didn't want the Thunder to catch him again.

Then again, OF COURSE they won't!

* * *

><p>Leopard had no sleep last night.<p>

Why? Because he was very busy tracking down Pocky.

Damn that Pocky.

Screw that Pocky.

If Pocky knew what Karma's plan was for, he would surely feel cheated.

After all, Leopard couldn't blame him... he would've felt the same way. And, he was VERY angry at Rowan.

Actually, he DID feel the same way. But he needed sure that Pocky wouldn't get to Karma. Well, at least before she assassinates Fi-fi (the nickname for Fireheart).

Meanwhile Pocky finds what Karma is up to, Leopard decided to find out something more important- who is her client- Tiger-something.

It was at that moment, while Leopard was monologuing in his mind, a cat behind him SCREECHED. The sound was painful. On various levels.

Leopard was taken by surprise. As he turned around, another cat, female, scratched his nose. "Hey!"

"Who are you stranger?" Female One said.

"He's obviously not a Clan cat," said the other.

Leopard opened his mouth to say "I AM a clan cat!" but he shut it tightly. He knew that their plan would fail if they knew that he was from a believed-to-be-legendary clan.

A third older cat came along. "Who's this, Hawkpaw?"

The first one spoke up instantly "Not sure. We found him prowling in the weeds,"

"But he hasn't done anything, Mistyfoot," The she-cat said.

"It's fine, Dawnpaw," Mistyfoot gently touched her head.

"We'll take him back to Crookedstar," Then her eyes narrowed. So did Leopard's.

"What? No!" Leopard jumped. "I'm no suspicious figure! I'm just here for the view!"

Then, Hawkpaw sighed, and glared at Leopard. _Hey, wanna fight?!_

Leopard, who read his eyes, being the expression-reading person he was, glared back. Never the one to back down from a challenge, he thought with all his might: _Sure._

(Do all cats have ESP?)

The two toms were locked in a quite intense stare-off. Hawkpaw was good, but Leopard was even better.

Hawkpaw yanked forward quickly in one shot to end it, but the apprentice's forehead was met with another's to the face.

Following the sonorous clash of skulls, the fact the apprentice to RiverClan had slumped over and fell unconscious to the ground determined whose head was harder.

Leopard had quickly executed his most reliable move, the Headbutt, landing Hawkpaw face flat on the dirt.

Leopard quickly disappeared through the trees. Mistyfoot ordered Dawnpaw to go get reinforcements, while she stayed to take care of Hawkpaw.

Leopard ran to the border, and saw a river. He wasn't the best swimmer, but he still made it across. Not wanting to attract more attention, he leeched onto the branches of the trees, and travelled quickly to avoid attention.

* * *

><p>Karma and Rin were workaholics. Unlike the other couriers and brokers in their information network, they never took breaks.<p>

So, they spent the rest of the night dragging it to the camphor tree, passing the Owl Tree and going straight for the Falls, where the camphor was located.

Karma waved Rin goodbye before they came in view, then charged straight on, rolling the stone, screaming:

"A STONE COMING THROUGH! ALL BYSTANDERS GET OUT OF THE WAY!1!11ONE!"

Thankfully, only Rowan and Frost and Lily was at the camphor and were sleeping in their holes, so Karma had no dangers in her path. She charged on.

The huge boulder rolled into the largest loophole in the roots; the hole Olliver had dug for no reason.

"Phew!" Karma panted before throwing her head back and cackling evilly for the sake of stupidity. Before the others woke, however, she retreated back into the forest to meet up with her older partner.

* * *

><p>On the opposite side of the Thunderclan border, Karma and Rin stalked silently through the forest.<p>

"Where is it?" Rin questioned.

"We're almost there," Karma reminded her. "Be quiet,"

Then, they both chuckled warmly for no reason, then stopped.

Karma, having better eyesight, saw the outlining of a suitable camp for many cats. She signalled Rin to crouch even lower, and the duo crawled quickly to the entrance of the camp.

Then, Rin farted.

* * *

><p>Ah, I kind of feel like crying now.<p>

When Rowan was faced with the problem of the hard-earned prey being crushed by a huge boulder. Olliver had dug a hole, despite his brooding attitude while doing it, there was some enthusiasm there.

"Karma, you overdid it," was the words that came after a few moments of tearful mourning.

* * *

><p>Two intruders, both female, were found in the dishes that night due to an unusual noise and a eye-tearing smell.<p>

Bluestar was filled with annoyance upon meeting the two, as they had simply dodged all her questions and have somehow come to agree that she was an old lady who lived too long.

She, in fact, was on the verge on deciding on how they would die.

"Why, this is my first time being spotted on an assassination, isn't it, Karma!"

"Rin, this is the PERFECT chance to interact with our target! It'll be like that 'I'm your friend, but I'm trying to kill you' kind of thing!"

"Karma, you're so smart!"

They both chuckled warmly as their target, with his orange fur and green eyes, came into view.

"What's going on?"

Bluestar was more than thankful for his intervention. "Ah, ah. Please, take over, I'm tired."

Fireheart looked confused, then noticed the two intruders. Then, he gasped dramatically, immediately catching the other's attention.

"It's… the cat who killed those foxes!" Fireheart yelled attention-grabbingly.

"...not this again." Karma closed her eyes. She was in a position where she was in quite a relaxed yet defensive crouch, back to back with Rin. From the untrained eye, one may find the position quite usual, but those who are experience could see logic in their pose.

"Why am I not mentioned? I killed the mother, you know, you know!" Rin whined.

"Mah, mah, you'll be mentioned next time if you get a bigger kill."

As the two she-cats continued this conversation that, from a distance, can be mistaken as a calm chat, but the ThunderClan cats surrounding the two could not help but feel a sudden chill.

When a cat, a person, or any living creature is put in a situation where they can feel the tension of possible killing intent at full blast, one will, simply worded, go bonkers.

Everyone, even the gods, are afraid of death, and one would do anything to prevent that from happening.

This is what Graystripe did to prevent his feeling of impending death.

"AAAAAAAAAAAA~!" Graystripe yelled, unsheathing his claws and charging forward. Though one could easily block the feeling of Karma and Rin's slowly leaking intent with pain, Graystripe had not crunched his upper teeth on the lower like the others.

This is, ladies and gentlemen, the moment of unsettling chaos in Graystripe's mind. No one can explain this horrible feeling that resided in the part of the brain that guided the nerves.

This is one example of Karma's specialties.

Graystripe's lunge was surprisingly precise, even though his nerves were pushed to a landing point. It fell in Karma's general direction.

Right… onto… Rin.

Tigerclaw had just stepped into camp.

Karma looked back.

At the same time, Leopard jumped into the camp, from a high distance, sort of resembling a flying squirrel that were found in the jungle, announcing the fact he had discovered the identity of the 'client'.

The other cats watching gasped and murmured quietly with each other, not wanting to provoke any of the intruders.

(Tigerclaw ISN'T an intruder.)

Graystripe climbed up to his feet. Tigerclaw signalled Graystripe to leave with a flick of his tail, a slight smile across his face, peaceful and happy. Though someone who was not extremely acquainted with this certain cat could not see this, but there was a deep pit of pure rage behind that smile.

That… damn… fox dung-ed… love-stealing… *****...

Karma evilly smiled at the sight to so many nervous and scared cats. It just simply amused her, being the sadist she is and STILL is.

Just before anyone could move a whisker, Pocky burst into the camp, yelling "Karma! Karma!", and THEN Pocky noticed the look on the other cat's faces.

Leopard facepawed, but at the same time, he was kind of relieved, because Pocky didn't find out the purpose of Karma's trip.

Both waiting for Karma's movements, they sat there silently. They kind of read the situation, as Karma's pure intent had leaked out. Even Pocky, in this situation, would not act as if he were a borderline emo in a film.

Eventually, someone had to continue with the story, no? Tigerclaw spoke "Bluestar, why don't we let these cats stay for a couple of days. After all, I doubt they have a home. Right?"

Leopard knew he couldn't lie and say that they have no home- Pocky was there, after all. But Karma had to stay and continue with the execution.

"All right, Tiger bastard. We have a home! And I don't know what these cats are doing here, but we're not staying!" Pocky shoved his face right in front to Tigerclaw's as he glared at Karma, daring her to stop him.

"Geez, Tigerclaw, just strutting into the camp and leaving a trail behind. C'mon, guys, let's go."

Karma, who basically had no other option, signalled her cats to leave.

Pocky has now another reason to respect her.

* * *

><p>Pocky was a good kit.<p>

This goes back to the time when Pocky was just two moons old, rolling around in a barn, laughing his socks off. This is before the time he turned into a Hollywood film borderline emo.

His Twolegs, who were honest farmers, loved him, cared for him in every way.

"What a good little cat he is!" exclaimed the young couple.

He grew up to be one as well.

Everyday, he helped out with the farm. He encouraged his owners, he herded the cows, he even got along with the pigs.

"What a reliable cat!" exclaimed the young couple.

One day, a new cat moved in. His name was Oreo. He was a black and white kitten, who was extremely cute.

He was quite a vicious cat.

Three days after he moved in, he had started causing trouble left and right.

He broke all the glass plates, wrecked the chandeliers, and scratched all the curtains, and he blamed it all on Pocky.

Pocky tried to cover it up, but it was not use.

Then one night, Oreo set of a small fire, for a laugh. But then, the fire got huge. Like always, Oreo would go hide somewhere where no one could find him- in the fridge. Again, Pocky did the best he could to help, but when the couple woke up, only Pocky was at the crime scene.

They had no choice but to give him to the wild. They left some food and water outside for him, but Pocky never ate it. He slept there for three cold nights.

For three days he starved. He waited for a miracle.

That happened. Then he saw it. A black guy!

This certain cat's eyes were nearly the same color as his, his own bright red eyes.

They were a dark crimson. They looked him eye to eye. "Ah, ah, what do you know, it's an underfed cat… I've got no choice, tsk, tsk. From the looks of that collar, you're a kitty pet, no wonder about your intuition."

The red eyed younger she-cat had said these words without a single doubt as she uncovered the situation. There were too many long words, but Pocky had sensed the insults.

One hit to the head knocked him out, despite the size of the attacker. When he came too, there was a quite mangled mouse in his mouth.

"... join the Dark Forest."

* * *

><p>When the four cats stepped out of ThunderClan territory, no one said a word. Well, they reached the border… that was when…<p>

Rin farted again.

"Pocky… go back to the camp," Karma ordered.

"What?" He exclaimed. "Why?"

"Rowan needs your help. Leopard will accompany you," Karma snapped.

"First, you go on a trip to a stupid camp! Then, you won't tell me anything. And now, you ask me to go home?" Pocky shouted.

"Pocky! You will go home, now!" Karma yelled, putting full force of her killing intent in those words.

"Fine!" Though Pocky had said those words quite boldly, his mind seemed to destroy itself with these words in fear of being killed.

Pocky stormed way, with Leopard following closely behind.

"You realize that this entire trip was a failure and a waste of time and effort, right?" Leopard looked to the other tom.

"Shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up…" This mantra was repeated along the way in a frustrated manner.

"Shut up?" Leopard repeated, "Look, I don't know what happened to you on the journey, but don't you 'shut up' me!"

"...shut up, shut up, shut up…"

"OI!"

As we focus on Rin and Karma, who were chatting again in quite a calm manner, again.

"I'm so glad that Tigerclaw stepped in for us! Aren't you, Rin?!" Damn that damn Tigerclaw, he just had to interfere. Why did that bastard leave a trail so Pocky could follow him!

"Yes, I'm so glad! I have no idea why he did that for us. But thank the stars for him! Of course, your friends who came in are to be 'thanked' as well!" I'm gonna kill that bastard and those two for interrupting our assassination!

"Let's show them our 'gratitude' next time!" Karma declared excitedly, raising and unclenching her paws to reveal her claws.

Tigerclaw, Leopard, and Pocky received some kind of extremely terrifying premonition just now.

* * *

><p>Recently, something came up, so... yeah. Here you go. Review, already...<p> 


	7. 第七話

ThunderClan had sent Fireheart to see that they have completely exited the area, but…

Isn't this conversation… a bit too happy-go-lucky? Fireheart thought from the bottom of his heart.

Though, for some reason, he somehow felt that they could follow his every movement.

* * *

><p>"Hey!" Smoke greeted them excitedly. "You're back!" Everyone greeted the duo happily, wanting to know more about their personal missions.<p>

Rowan hung back slightly, wanting to greet his best friend, but not wanting to know what happened.

The wounds, the wounds! screamed Frost in her mind as she scrambled back to the medical den. Though she had learned from the cats of the Dark Forest, she was still in a furious tangle with the difference between dock and sorrel. If this continues, I would never be able to impress Smoke like THIS!

"What's your problem?" Leopard growled at Rowan. All the cats departed, leaving Rowan in the middle of Gathering Branch.

Rowan was a bit hurt at this, but held back his disappointment.

Rowan turned his back on his most trustworthy, best friend.

He felt guilty, yet couldn't admit to Leopard that he was scared to death when Leopard went to chase after Pocky who was chasing after Karma who was chasing after Firestar.

"Hello?" Leopard sharply meowed. "Are you ignoring me? Rowan! Why are you not talking to me!"

Rowan struggled to be silent. He had to say, Leopard isn't the easiest cat to ignore. Okay, he was the hardest cat on earth to ignore.

Fine! You can keep on ignoring me! Leopard thought.

He glared at Rowan, who was looking like a balloon about to pop for the last time.

* * *

><p>Leopard was quite an impressionable cat.<p>

No God of Leopard Fur can explain why he is such an impressionable cat.

Leopard was not ordinary kitten.

He knew how to climb trees faster and better than any other kitten in his neighborhood. He could catch a squirrel so easily that it seemed like it was waiting for him.

It was as if he was the god of tree climbing.

He could run on the trees sturdier and speedier than anyone else.

Yet, he was not good at one thing: friends. While the other kittens would play with cotton balls, Leopard would always try to reach the top of his house's tree.

Or when his owners would take him to their lake house, he would try to swim across the lake. But no one seemed to care. All the others were just playful and soft kittens waiting to be played with. So when he moved to another area, he met Rowan. Rowan was an intelligent, smart, and cunning kitten. He was also different.

Not after a long time, they became friends. When he grew a little older though, Leopard was given away to the pet store. No one would buy him, so eventually, he became a street cat. He never had a permanent home after that.

Rowan would always come to accompany Leopard, and they'd do everything together. Rowan became more than his friend: he was his brother.

So during a huge snowstorm, when Rowan's owners died of frostbite, Rowan joined Leopard in street life. They had met many groups of cats, who they didn't like, or vice versa.

Now we come to the second problem: his fur.

His namesake says it all; despite it being a leopard-like, it was a dark pelt neverless.

Rowan liked it.

No one else.

So, in summary, it was a bit like the common situation of bullying.

* * *

><p>Like, Arnee here! Long time no seee!<p>

Well, I'd like to say... Ian had recently pursued the art of reference to US history. Oh yes, the next few chapters will be HORRIBLE. They will be about the many adventures of the IvyClan Confederacy and the IvyClan Union and Leopard of the Rebellion. Oh, god.

Anyways, I... don't... I wanna cry about this. I've never seen such a story with good grammar in Warriors archive, but with such resemblance to _My Immortal_. (Harry Potter Archive)

Arnee... out... *sniffles*


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